Workplace Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire – WHEQ
Measures the frequency of heterosexist harassment and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees in the workplace.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Workplace Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire – WHEQ was developed by Waldo, C. R. (1999). It is designed to measure Workplace heterosexist harassment. The scale is intended for use with Lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 25 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Hostile Work Environment, Direct Harassment, Identity Management.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Hostile Work Environment | 1,2,15 | 3 |
| Direct Harassment | 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,20,23,24,25 | 16 |
| Identity Management | 16,17,18,19,21,22 | 6 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Never, 1 = Once or Twice, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, 4 = Most of the time.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 100. Interpretation guidelines:
- No heterosexist experiences: 0 – 0
- Low frequency of heterosexist experiences: 1 – 25
- Moderate frequency of heterosexist experiences: 26 – 60
- High frequency of heterosexist experiences: 61 – 100
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.92.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.